Ubisoft is not finished support the swordfighting game For Honor. The publisher today announced that the biggest-ever third season, called "Grudge & Glory," will arrive on August 15 for all platforms. It adds new content in the form of new heroes and maps, along with features like a 1v1 mode and other updates to the gameplay experience.
All of the maps and updates are free when the update hits. The new heroes, Highlander and Gladiator, will be available on August 15 for people who own the Season Pass. Everyone else can buy them with 15,000 Steel credits a week later, on August 22.
You can see official descriptions for Highlander and Gladiator below, written by Ubisoft:
Highlander (Viking Hybrid) – Highlanders are patient heroes capable of switching between two different fighting forms. Their defensive form allows forcounter-attacking and trading blows, while their offensive form empowers them to unleash their deadliest attacks at the expense of being able to block. Wielding the heaviest and longest sword in the game, the Highlander's massive claymore gives them a deadly combination of strength and range.
Gladiator (Knight Assassin) – Wielding a trident and shield, Gladiators have made a living off of killing for sport, and now bring their ruthlessness and skill to war. Equipped with little armor, they can punch their opponents to create separation to set up attacks and stuns. Their larger stamina meter and reduced cool down times make them extremely agile and dangerous opponents.
As for the new maps, these are called Sentinel and Viking Village. Ubisoft says both maps "hold a unique and deadly environmental hazard which will force players to master the terrain and be aware of their surroundings at all times."
Here are some other key takeaways about For Honor's third season:
New legendary gear rarity
Max reputation for all heroes is rising to 40
1v1 duel tournaments are coming for all platforms
4v4 ranked modes are coming later this year
"Several additional gameplay updates" are coming at launch.
More gameplay adjustments "to better balance offensive and defensive play styles" will continue to be tested for the duration of Season 3.
Ubisoft will showcase the Grudge & Glory content during a livestream event taking place starting at 11 AM PT on August 12 through the For Honor Twitch channel. For now, you can see some of the content in action through the announcement trailer above.
Blizzard Entertainment, the gaming giant behind franchises like World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch most recently, is working on multiple new IPs. But don't expect them to be announced soon, or possibly ever, as Blizzard is working on them only in an incubation stage.
Speaking during Activision Blizzard's earnings call today, Blizzard president and co-founder Mike Morhaime started off by saying the bulk of the developer's focus right now is on supporting its existing franchises. But at the same time, he reminded people that Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham returned to the company last year to head up the incubation teams working on new projects.
"In terms of new IP, our pipeline is in a better position than ever before in our history. we're committed to incubating new initiatives," Morhaime said, adding that the developer is looking at new platforms like mobile.
Some of the projects that Adham is overseeing include "great ideas" that Blizzard was working on before he came back. But others are brand-new IPs, apparently. As you might have guessed, Blizzard doesn't plan to rush these games to market, if they are ever released at all.
"We now have multiple dedicated incubation teams that are being led by some of our most experienced game designers at Blizzard," Morhaime said. "I should say that creating new, Blizzard-quality games on any platform will take time. And as we've shown in the past, we're not going to release any games that we don't feel live up to our expectations or those of our players.
"When we do bring new experiences to current or new platforms for new and existing IPs, they're going to be ideas that are our teams are passionate about and that we think there is a large audience for."
Blizzard canceled a new MMO called Titan, later admitting that the studio "failed horrifically."
Activision Blizzard has reported its earnings for the second quarter of 2017, which ended on June 30, 2017. Although Activision saw a slight decline in monthly active users to 47 million, Blizzard was up to a record 46 million, a 38% increase over last year.
Blizzard attributed this to Overwatch and Hearthstone. Overwatch set a new record for monthly active users, which is impressive given that it's now a year old. The press release notes that the Uprising event, which included a PvE mode (the game is otherwise PvP only), enjoyed "record play time." Hearthstone also reached a new record for MAUs, thanks to the release of expansion Journey to Un'Goro. World of Warcraft subscriber figures were not shared, as per usual, but "time spent" in the game was up compared with the second quarter of last year. The most recent expansion, Legion, is also "perform[ing] ahead of the prior expansion," 2014's Warlords of Draenor.
With the release of Destiny 2 approaching, Activision noted that the recent console beta attracted more players than Destiny 1's beta. Additionally, pre-orders for the sequel have eclipsed those of the first game, although no specific figures or further comparisons were offered. Call of Duty: WWII pre-orders are similarly described as "strong."
During the quarter, Activision made the uncommon move of releasing new content for a previous year's Call of Duty game with Black Ops III's Zombies Chronicles. As you'd expect, this led to an increase in players compared to the prior quarter (but apparently not the same period in 2016). Activision also noted that Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy performed well, becoming the top-selling console game in the world in June despite being available for only two days.
Overall, Activision Blizzard's net revenue for the quarter was $1.63 billion, a slight increase over the $1.57 billion generated during the same period last year. Perhaps more notably, $1.31 billion of that came in the form of digital net revenue, a 15% increase year-over-year.
The publisher will host a conference call with investors and analysts this afternoon. We'll report back with anything interesting it has to share.
In the gallery below, you'll find every Knights of the Frozen Throne card that's been shown off so far. These include cards with a new keyword, Lifesteal, which heals players based on the damage that it does. There are also Legendary Hero cards, which replace your character with a modified Death Knight version when played; these come with a new ability and look.
In addition to new cards, Knights of the Frozen Throne includes new single-player content--something the most recent expansion, Journey to Un'Goro, did not. Earlier this year, Blizzard made changes to how new expansions and single-player Adventures are rolled out. Knights of the Frozen Throne's single-player component is different than those in the past, as it comes with a set of free missions, including a prologue, two wings of three boss fights each, and a final battle against the Lich King. Completing the prologue will net you a random Legendary Hero card, while finishing each wing will also get you a card from the expansion. If you make your way through everything, you'll also obtain a card pack.
A special, one-time pre-order offer is available for Knights of the Frozen Throne, allowing you to buy 50 card packs for $50. Doing so also gets you a special card back, pictured above along with some new artwork.
Hearthstone's latest expansion, Knights of the Frozen Throne, is just days away. Blizzard announced today that it launches for all players next Thursday, August 10.
As its title suggests, Knights of the Frozen Throne is themed around Warcraft's Lich King and the Frozen Throne. It introduces another 135 cards to the game, including those with the Lifesteal keyword, which heals players for the amount of damage the card deals. Legendary Hero cards are also new; when played, they replace the user's character with a Death Knight version that sports a new look and ability.
Another component of Knights of the Frozen Throne is new single-player content, which was absent from the Journey to Un'Goro expansion released earlier this year. Blizzard has altered the way it rolls out single-player Adventures. For this expansion, you'll get a bunch of stuff for free: there's a prologue, two wings of three boss fights each, and a final battle against the Lich King. A random Legendary Hero card is awarded upon finishing the prologue, while a free card pack is available for completing everything.
We haven't yet gotten a look at every new card from the expansion, but more than half of them have now been revealed. You can check those out in our gallery of every Knights of the Frozen Throne card shown off so far. If you're suitably intrigued, you can pre-purchase 50 Frozen Throne card packs at a discounted rate of $50. This offer is only available once per account.
A free update for the Nintendo Switch version of Cave Story+ is out now. Publisher Nicalis revealed on Twitter that the update is available in North America and adds a vintage coat of paint to the retro-inspired adventure game.
The new patch introduces a "classic" graphics option to Cave Story+. Players can swap between the Switch version's "remastered" visuals--which feature much more detailed environments and characters--and the game's original graphics. You can take a look at the difference in the comparison shot below.
New vs. classic visuals
While the update is available to download now in North America, Nicalis hasn't said when it will begin rolling out in Europe. According to the studio, it is still awaiting patch approval from Nintendo of Europe, though it should presumably follow soon.
Cave Story first debuted on PC in 2004 and was followed by Cave Story+, an enhanced version that released on Steam in 2011. The game would subsequently come to various other platforms, including Wii and 3DS--the latter of which also received a full, three-dimensional remake dubbed Cave Story 3D. Nicalis calls the Switch release of Cave Story+ the "definitive" version. It includes additional challenges, levels, gameplay options, and other content.
Cave Story+ is available at retail and in the Switch Eshop for $30. Another Nicalis game, The End Is Nigh, is also slated to arrive on Switch and PlayStation 4, though it currently has no release date. Steam users can already purchase that game on PC for $15.
While games continue to regularly go on sale in the Wii U and 3DS Eshops, discounts have been much rarer to see on Nintendo Switch, with only one notable exception thus far. Now, however, Switch owners have a rare chance to snag a pair of games from the Eshop at a discount.
Square Enix's nostalgic RPG, I Am Setsuna, is currently on sale in the Switch Eshop for $26.79, 33% off of its standard price of $40. The melancholy adventure follows the eponymous Setsuna, who is fated to be sacrificed in order to save her land. The game marked the debut effort of developer Tokyo RPG Factory and was inspired primarily by classic RPGs such as Chrono Trigger. It received positive reviews when it released, so this would be a good opportunity to pick it up before the studio's next effort, Lost Sphear, arrives on the console. The sale ends on August 10 at 9 AM PT/12 PM ET.
Switch owners can also snag a discount on TumbleSeed, the "roll-y roguelike" that challenges players with balancing a seed while climbing up progressively more treacherous mountains. The game normally retails for $15, but for a limited time Switch owners can pick it up for $10. The sale coincides with a new update the development team just released, which adds six new game modes to the title (including a Switch-exclusive two-player battle mode), new persistent abilities, a weekly challenge, and more. The update also makes the notoriously difficult game easier.
Meanwhile on 3DS and Wii U, a number of Kirby games are on sale in each console's respective Eshop to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. From now until August 8, 3DS owners can purchase Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Triple Deluxe for $30 and $15, respectively, while 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure is on sale for $5.24. Wii U owners can find discounts on various Kirby Virtual Console titles, including Kirby's Return to Dream Land ($15), Kirby 64: They Crystal Shards ($7.49), and Kirby's Dream Land 3 ($6). You can find the full list of Kirby games on sale here.
This has been a fairly busy week for the Switch Eshop. Seven new titles debuted for the service yesterday, including the Grand Theft Auto sendup Retro City Rampage and the NeoGeo shoot-'em-up Aero Fighters 2. A region-free demo of Monster Hunter XX is scheduled to arrive in the Japanese Eshop next week, on August 10, but all Switch owners will be able to download it simply by creating a new Nintendo Account and setting their region to Japan.
Like numerous other game companies, Square Enix has reported its earnings for its most recent fiscal quarter, which came to an end on June 30, 2017. It was a period without any major new game releases, although there were still some bright spots.
Most notably, the launch of Final Fantasy XIV's Stormblood expansion led to a sizable increase in Square Enix's MMO business. MMO net sales for the quarter were 9.3 billion yen, over 3 billion more than during any quarter in the previous year. The publisher will continue to pursue the MMO space, as the next two months will see new versions of Dragon Quest X released for PS4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan.
On the traditional packaged games side, net sales were down due to the lack of new releases. However, Square Enix did see "strong download sales" of its catalog titles, specifically calling out Nier: Automata (which I assume did well entirely because of this video). This led to the company's console games generating more operating income (the amount the company earns before deducting taxes or interest) when compared with the same period a year ago.
In terms of mobile games, Square Enix described its mainstays--Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, Hoshi No Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest: Monsters Super Light, and Kingdom Hearts Union X--as "continuing to show strong performances." The mobile/PC browser segment saw an increase in net sales to 23.7 billion yen, up from 19.7 billion last year.
Unfortunately, no specific unit sales figures for any of these games were shared. Total net sales for the quarter were 57 billion yen, up from 51.1 billion a year ago; operating income was down to 3.9 billion from 8.9 billion. Square Enix warned investors of the "major changes" facing the industry, which could lead to larger fluctuations in future results. In particular, it noted that "consumer needs for contents suitable to smart devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs are rapidly expanding, while the console game markets in North America and Europe are increasingly getting competitive and oligopolistic."
As reported by The Verge, Episode 4 of the current season of Game of Thrones is now online. It has been confirmed that the source of this leak is Star India, one of HBO's distribution partners, and that the company's logo appears as a watermark throughout the episode.
In a statement, a spokesman for Star India said, "[We can confirm] the compromise of episode 4 of Game of Thrones Season 7, earlier this afternoon. We take this breach very seriously and have immediately initiated forensic investigations at our and the technology partner's end to swiftly determine the cause. This is a grave issue and we are taking appropriate legal remedial action."
As The Verge notes, the leak earlier this week hasn't yet resulted in any Game of Thrones episodes appearing online, only scripts for the show. Hackers obtained 1.5 terabytes of data from HBO, which also included upcoming episodes of the sports comedy Ballers and the new anthology drama Room 104.
The HBO breach was the latest in a series of hacking threats against high-profile entertainment companies. In May, it was reported that Disney's big-budget sequel Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales had been stolen and was being held for ransom by hackers. However, the studio subsequently denied that the film was taken, and stated that it was a merely a "threat."
This followed an incident earlier this year, when a hacker claimed that he had stolen the latest season of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black, and was similarly demanding a payout from the streaming giant. The biggest studio hack to date was the infamous attack on Sony's servers in 2014, when over 100 terabytes of data was uploaded online.
The first proper Splatfest in Nintendo's colorful Switch shooter, Splatoon 2, is set to begin soon. The event kicks off in the US tonight, August 4, at 9 PM PT/12 AM ET and in the UK on August 5 at 3 PM BST.
This Splatfest runs for a full 24 hours and, like the World Premiere Demo that took place before the game released, revolves around food. This time, players are asked to choose which condiment they prefer: mayo or ketchup?
To take part in the Splatfest, simply pledge your fealty to your condiment of choice at the voting booth in Inkopolis Square, and the wins you amass in Turf War will go toward your team's overall score. Depending on your rank by the end of the event, participants will be rewarded with a number of Super Sea Snails, rare items that can be used to add additional slots to your gear.
We already got a glimpse at one of the maps that will be featured during the event: Shifty Station, an entirely new stage that will make its debut tonight. Unlike the other maps in the game, however, Shifty Station will only be available in the stage rotation during Splatfests. Nintendo says its layout changes from event to event, so players will be battling on a different version of the map the next time it appears during a Splatfest.
Nintendo is also releasing another free DLC weapon to coincide with the Splatfest. This time, players will be able to purchase the Sploosh-O-Matic, a returning weapon from the first Splatoon. This particular shooter has a short range but compensates with its high attack power. It's sub-weapon in Splatoon 2 is the Curling Bomb and its special attack is Splashdown.
Earlier this week, Japanese magazine Famitsu revealed two more characters who'll be playable in Fire Emblem Warriors: the pegasus knight Cordelia and the female version of Robin. Following that announcement, Koei Tecmo has updated the game's Japanese website with the first images of the two heroines.
Like the majority of the confirmed roster thus far, Cordelia and Robin both hail from Fire Emblem Awakening, the series' first 3DS installment. The website doesn't share many new details about either character, but it does provide a look at how each will play. As in Awakening, Cordelia rides into battle on a pegasus, which makes her ideal for navigating certain terrain; according to the game's website, some maps will have areas that are only accessible by flying. Robin, like her male counterpart, uses a tome to cast spells, though it remains unclear if she's a separate character or simply an alternate version.
The website also shared some new gameplay details. As mentioned in Famitsu, Fire Emblem Warriors will feature a permadeath mode like a traditional Fire Emblem title. Any character who perishes during a battle will no longer be usable for the remainder of the adventure. This mechanic is limited to the game's Classic mode, however; like most recent games in the series, Warriors also boasts a "casual" option that allows any fallen units to return after the battle.
Warriors also features other signature Fire Emblem mechanics, which were further detailed on the game's website. Like other installments in the series, characters can strengthen their bond with one another by fighting together on the battlefield. Forging bonds between warriors will net rewards and open up support conversations. Similarly, despite Warriors' more action-oriented gameplay, players will still be able to instruct characters where to go and even switch between which hero they're controlling freely during battle.
New games continue to roll out for the Nintendo Switch, with a total of seven new games arriving on the Switch Eshop today. The biggest of these is Retro City Rampage DX, an upgraded port of the 2012 game.
Retro City Rampage is an open-world action game designed as a sort of parody of '80s and '90s games and of the original, top-down Grand Theft Auto titles. After launching on PC, PS3, and PS Vita five years ago, it later came to Xbox 360, Wii, PS4, 3DS, PSP, iOS, Android, microwaves, calculators, and vacuum cleaners (probably). About time it came to Switch, then. It'll set you back $15 / £13 / €15. Developer Vblank is also working on a spiritual successor called Shakedown Hawaii, which is coming to Switch (as well as PC, PS4, Vita, and 3DS) soon.
Also new is the fast-paced twitch platformer Slime-San, which previously launched on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in April. That'll cost you $12 / £10 / €12. There's also arcade Pong-variant Gunbarich and aerial arcade game Strikers 1945 for $8 / £6 / €6 each, cute brain-twister Puzzle Adventure Blockle for $8 / £6 / €6.29, and multiplayer party game Use Your Words, which costs $15 / £11.79 / €13.
Finally, the Switch receives its customary ACA Neo Geo game of the week. This time around it's Aero Fighters 2, another aerial shoot-'em-up. It was first released in 1994, and now you can play it on your Switch for the price of $8 / £6.29 / €7. In addition to the new games, one older one is on sale. I Am Setsuna, the popular JRPG, is available for 33% off for one week.
Looking ahead, the Switch will receive a region-free demo of Monster Hunter XX next week, despite the game still not being confirmed for a western release. The Switch's firmware was also updated this week to fix a battery display issue, bringing with it the usual stability and performance improvements.
Sega Sammy has reported the results of its most recent fiscal quarter, which ended on June 30, 2017. Persona 5 and Phantasy Star Online 2 were among the highlights for its video game business, while a big increase in the pachinko business helped the company to reach a positive quarter.
As revealed recently, Sega stated that Persona 5 has shipped a combined 1.8 million units worldwide since its Japanese release last year and April 2017 launch internationally. A regional breakdown was not shared, but the company said the RPG "performed well" outside of Japan. The performance of Sega's two other major game releases during the quarter, Dawn of War III and Endless Space 2, was not specified.
Once again, Sega called out the success of Phantasy Star Online 2, which frustratingly remains unavailable in the West. Sega noted that, despite turning five years old in July, it continues to "perform strongly." It also called attention to the launch of a "large-scale update," Episode 5, from late last month as a sign of its continued support. There was, however, still no word regarding an international release for the online RPG.
Sales for the quarter were 107.2 billion yen, up from 70.6 billion during the same quarter a year ago. That increase can be attributed almost entirely to the pachinko business, which saw sales jump to 54.9 billion yen from 21.2 billion yen thanks to strong sales of Hokuto No Ken 7 Resurrection. That actually exceeded the amount generated by the Entertainment Contents group (50.2 billion yen), which includes Sega's video game business.
With August comes another month of new games to play. There's a great selection of new releases, like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Yakuza Kiwami, Madden NFL 18, and more. It's only the beginning of what's to come in the next few months leading up to the end of the year. Below, you can see the biggest August releases as well as a list of some of the most notable games coming out this month.
Uncharted 4 wrapped up Nathan Drake's story, but the franchise continues with Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Set in India, the game focuses on established series characters Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross embarking on a journey to discover the Tusk of Ganesha.
Aside from what you've come to expect from the Madden series, its latest entry features a story mode called Longshot, which stars House of Cards and Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali and follows a football player with the goal of making it to the NFL.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle -- August 29 (Switch)
The upcoming turn-based strategy cross-over game Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was first revealed at Ubisoft's E3 2017 press conference. It shares similarities to the XCOM series while retaining the colorful, lighthearted nature of both the Mario and Rabbids franchises.
DC's upcoming miniseries Nightwing: The New Order completely changes the dynamic of the comic book universe. The majority of heroes and villains alike had their powers stripped from them, and the man leading the charge, while working with the government, to hunt down the remaining metahumans is Dick Grayson, also known as Nightwing.
Kyle Higgins, the writer of The New Order, first worked on the New 52's Nightwing series back in 2011, and his return to the character was exciting for him, to say the least, "It feels familiar but different," Higgins told GameSpot. "I can write him in my sleep though. He's my all-time favorite character. It's more exciting than anything. I've already written the series, and now that I'm done, it's a bit sad. Even though it was for a very specific story, he was my guy again."
The six-issue miniseries follows Dick Grayson in 2040. "Dick's like 45 years old and he has a 12-year-old son," explained Higgins. "We're living in a world where about 12 years earlier, Dick detonated a device that neutralized 90% of the world's superpowers. There had been a proliferation and spread of superpowers in the world. They were as easy to get as a loaf of bread at the supermarket. You could walk into a bodega and pick up telekinesis. In a lot of ways, it's an allegory for the gun issue in our country right now but through the lens of DC superheroes and superpowers. The spread and incidents that escalated in the world finally culminated with something that's like the Armageddon war of Metropolis."
The New Order miniseries--you can see a preview of the first issue above--is a very different tale for the character many people know as Batman's former sidekick, Robin. "This is a unique situation because it's my take on Nightwing out of continuity. It's like an Elseworlds, and it takes place far enough in the future that I'm defining the character. I'm not playing off of established continuity that's happening in the mainline right now or anything like that." Higgins and artist Trevor McCarthy have carte blanche with the character and the world he inhabits, leading to this unique take on characters losing their powers.
By neutralizing the world's metahumans, Nightwing's actions lead to an authoritarian state: "The world did get safer, but similar to what we see in our country, things went too far. Laws passed that made superpowers illegal, and if you were part of the 10% that had superpowers, you had to register, and go on inhibitor medication, and if the inhibitor medication didn't work, which was very, very rare, then you're put into stasis until the doctor can figure out a way to take them away."
The story of a superhero losing their powers has been done before but never on such a large scope as this. There are many changes to the world around characters people know and love and with that, come redesigns of characters. Higgins explained that McCarthy did many redesigns of popular characters, and McCarthy's take on Superman was the writer's favorite.
Higgins closed by discussing the relationship between Dick Grayson and his son, Jake, and the dynamic's affect on the story: "It's Jake [in the future] narrating the book, looking back asking the question that we as readers are asking, 'How does my dad, who a lot of people said was the heart and soul of the DC Universe come to believe that this was best for the world? Was the world really that bad that this was the only way for the world to move forward?'"
Higgins and McCarthy's Nightwing: The New Order comes to comic shops and digital formats on August 23.
Electronic Arts has revealed that NBA Live 18 will feature both the current teams and rosters of the WNBA. Although the Women's National Basketball Association has existed for over 20 years and legends like Lisa Leslie and Sue Bird have appeared in EA's NBA Street, no game has allowed you to play with the full squads of the L.A. Sparks, Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, or any of the other WNBA teams until this year. This follows EA's inclusion of women's teams in the FIFA series, which began with FIFA 16.
NBA Live 18 is scheduled for release on PS4 and Xbox One this fall. A free demo on PS4 and Xbox One is scheduled for release on August 11, 2017, although it won't feature the WNBA content.
Correction: We reported in error that NBA Live 18 is coming out on PC. It is currently planned for release only on Xbox One and PS4.
This Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones will be the series' shortest ever. According to Entertainment Weekly, the episode, "The Spoils Of War," clocks in at 50 minutes. It's the shortest episode ever across all seasons, but only by one minute.
The previous three episodes in Season 3 came in at around an hour or just over. While this Sunday's episode might be the shortest ever, the fifth episode, which airs on August 13, will move back to around the normal length, coming in at 59 minutes.
The Season 7 finale, meanwhile, is the longest Game of Thrones episode ever, clocking in at 80 minutes. It's significantly longer than the previous longest episode, the Season 6 finale, which was 69 minutes long.
In Game of Thrones Season 8, which is the final season, episodes could each be as long as movies. Seasons 7 and 8 containing just 13 episodes between them, which is shorter than usual, but the longer episodes might mean the total runtime is just about the same.
For more on this week's episode, check out the spoiler-y preview above. GameSpot will have a breakdown of of the biggest moments and more after it airs this Sunday at 9 PM on HBO.
Destiny 2's expansions are going to be very important for the overall health and success of the shooter, according to publisher Activision. Speaking on an earnings call today, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg gave a high-level overview of how the publisher is thinking about Destiny 2 ahead of launch and the importance of its DLC.
Starting off, Hirshberg said there are "a lot of positive signs" about Destiny 2. Starting off, Activision believes in the game itself--Hirshberg said the publisher has a "tremendous amount of confidence" in it.
"We received almost universally positive feedback from both the press and the fans alike," Hirshberg said, adding that the game's development cycle is "continuing to close strong."
One of the reasons why Activision is so optimistic about Destiny 2 is because it is taking steps to broaden the franchise's appeal, Hirshberg said, with things like bringing it to PC, localising it for more countries, and partnering with Blizzard to launch the PC edition through the World of Warcraft company's massively popular Battle.net service.
He added that pre-orders for Destiny 2 have been "very strong" and added that an "overwhelmingly high percentage" of pre-orders have been for the premium versions that include the game and its expansion content.
Destiny 2 will be supported with multiple expansions after launch. While these have yet to be fully detailed, Hirshberg stressed that Destiny 2's expansion content is incredibly important.
"Finally, and maybe most importantly with a game like this, Destiny is so engaging that the follow-on content is almost as important if not as important as the main game," Hirshberg said.
The success of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is no secret, as it's topped numerous sales charts since its release in late June. During a post-earnings conference call with investors, Activision Blizzard discussed the game's performance and the possibility of more remasters from the company--and the odds sure sound good.
Responding to a question about what Crash's success could mean, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said, "We knew that there was a passionate audience out there for Crash--full disclosure, myself among them--but we had no idea... it's hard to tell if that's a vocal minority or that's a real mass audience until you put something out there. Crash has surpassed all of our expectations by a pretty wide margin."
Without revealing any sales figures, Hirshberg then noted how well N. Sane Trilogy has performed. It was the world's top-selling console game in June even though it was only released on the second-to-last day of the month, and we learned today that it was the top-selling PS4 game on PSN in the US and Europe.
And while there's likely something to be gleaned from the success N. Sane Trilogy has enjoyed, Hirshberg argued that remasters are not an entirely new space for Activision. "I think this is just another example of us really listening to our communities and our fans and offering them great content where they want to engage, which is one of our core strategies," he said. "We think we have other great IP in our portfolio that we're considering, of course, but this isn't new behavior for us. We've already shown the power that is Modern Warfare Remastered [and] Zombies Chronicles, and Crash Bandicoot is obviously another great example.
"So this is a strategy that clearly has our attention, and while there are no new announcements today, I think you can be confident there will be more activity like this in the future with more great IP. The other opportunity beyond remasters is to look at some of our classic IP and ask whether or not it can be reborn on a new platform, like what we're doing with Skylanders on mobile. Our IP library is an asset that, when done right, can be very powerful."
The long-awaited movie adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy saga The Dark Tower opens this weekend, to mediocre box office predictions and largely negative reviews. However, the plan to expand the property to television remains in place--at least for now.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, former Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara will oversee the development of a Dark Tower TV show. The series will be a joint-production between Sony Television and the independent studio MRC. However, as THR notes, the show is in its early stages and no network is attached as yet. It is expected that a first season would be 10-13 episodes long.
In a statement to THR, Mazzara said, "I've been a Stephen King fan for decades, and the opportunity to adapt The Dark Tower as a TV series is a great honor. The events of The Gunslinger, Wizard and Glass, The Wind Through the Keyhole, and other tales need a long format to capture the complexity of Roland's coming of age--how he became the Gunslinger, how Walter became the Man in Black, and how their rivalry cost Roland everything and everyone he ever loved.
"I could not be more excited to tell this story. It feels like being given the key to a treasure chest."
The Dark Tower TV show was first reported in 2016. Although it was originally suggested that the show would shoot in 2017, subsequent comments from producer Ron Howard revealed that it was far from definite "[There's] not a commitment on the television side," he told TV Guide in April. "But creatively, it could work very well, hand in hand with what we'd like the movies to be."
The Dark Tower is on course to make around $20 million at the US box office this weekend. Although it is expected to take the No.1 slot on the charts, there is little competition elsewhere, with most of the summer's big movies having already been released.
In GameSpot's Dark Tower review, reviewer Michael Rougeau said the film was "not the adaptation hardcore fans were hoping for, but it's also not a terrible movie."
"It takes plenty of liberties with the source material, some for the better, and others the worse," he continued. "But for every cringey line of dialogue, there's another that might make you laugh or give you chills, and for all the cheesy action, there's some really impressive stuff, too."
Prey launched in May to a mixed reception. Some of the criticism it received was due to a bunch of the PS4 version's performance problems, such as input lag, screen-tearing, and more. Now, two months after the game's most recent update, version 1.05 is live, and it promises to address many of those issues.
The first line of the patch notes states that the PS4 version's screen-tearing and stuttering have been fixed. Digital Foundry corroborates publisher Bethesda's claims, saying "the stuttering and tearing issues [have] gone." The remainder of the update is composed of many more bug fixes for all platforms--take a look at the full patch notes below.
"It opens with a poignant, thought-provoking premise, but fails to follow through until the end, when it claims a revelation it doesn't quite earn," wrote critic Tamoor Hussain. "Its gameplay falters out of the gate, eventually maturing into something worthwhile, if a bit familiar. As an homage to System Shock it's competent and at times even enjoyable. However, Prey fails to distinguish itself, and next to immersive sim contemporaries such as Dishonored, it feels stagnant." For more on Prey and developer Arkane Austin, check out GameSpot's documentary feature The Story of Arkane Studios.
Prey Update 1.05 Patch Notes
[PS4 only] Fixes to address screen-tearing/stuttering.
Player can no longer become blocked from rebooting Power Plant for the Reboot mission after killing the Technopath in Life Support.
Added weapon malfunction text for when weapons jam.
Fixed crash when mimicking bass guitar in the Yellow Tulip.
Extra items gained through passive neuromods, such as organs and tumors from Necropsy or spare parts through Dismantle, will now properly stack in the player's inventory automatically.
Loading a save from a previous version of the game will no longer remove all quests and inventory, or break the HUD.
Fix for some AI-related crashes.
Various combat tweaks/fixes for mimics.
Opening the TranScribe will no longer disrupt FoV settings.
The light on top of a turret will no longer become detached when the player jumps and glides while holding it.
Approaching areas with Coral should no longer cause the client to stutter and eventually freeze.
Operator corpses from saves made on previous builds will no longer cause performance issues.
Repair II and III increase efficiency with suit patch kits. Reduced suit damage from enemies on easy and normal difficulty.
Increased wrench range and strength of melee aim assist. Wrench now always staggers mimics (interrupts attacks). Mimics stand further back to prevent players having to look down too much.
Stun Gun now tells the player when a target is out of its effective range. Weapons will display "Weapon Offline" when disabled by EMP.
Hepatocytic Amp S-m186 chipset now properly only removes the negative effects of the "Drunk" debuff
Player will now spawn in the correct location when traveling from Shuttle Bay to other locations.
Fixed rare crash when level transitioning to Life Support.
Reployers no longer lose collision when recycling them, and then loading a save where they were present.
Player can no longer bypass ceiling collision by mantling GLOO.
Danielle now voices the correct response to the player's actions with the Cook during the endgame sequence.
The fabricated coral detector chipset and the quest-given chipset now both function correctly to scan the coral when installed
Fix for rare freeze/crash when in combat with Phantoms.
The Luther Glass quest will no longer incorrectly complete and fail after the player has already completed the quest in Trauma Center.
Lights are no longer sometimes incorrectly on when the player enters the Cargo Bay for the first time
Igwe will no longer be found in Cargo Bay when the "meet January" call is triggered.
Mimic's wall jump attack animation is cancelled if they are stunned.
Treasure Hunt now lists an objective and marker to return to Abigail's workstation once all the maps are investigated.
The nightmare in the Arboretum is now able to get into the greenhouse and use ranged attacks on the player from the doorway.
Turrets can now be hacked properly if they've been previously controlled by the Technopath.
If the player manages to fully GLOO the greater mimic while it is in mid-lunge toward the player's face, the facegrab animation will no longer play and trap the player.
Hitting a stunned Phantom with the wrench no longer breaks their animations
Raised phantoms and operators will no longer become hostile to the player when attaching grenades to them.
In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Sandberg revealed that Shazam would be a lot lighter in tone than previous films in the DC Extended Universe. "The big attraction for me with that character is the fact that every kid dreams of being Superman, right? I mean I certainly did, and [Billy Batson] is a kid that gets that chance," he said. "He gets to become the superhero. So it'll be big with superpowers in a way. In terms of what people can expect, I think this will be one of the more fun or lighthearted movies so far in the DC universe. It certainly will be a departure."
Sanberg scored a hit last year with the thriller Lights Out, and his horror sequel Annabelle: Creation arrives next week.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was previously announced in the role of Shazam's nemesis Black Adam and is set to appear in a spinoff movie focusing on that character. However, it has now been confirmed that he will not feature in the Shazam movie.
Shazam first appeared in 1939, when he was known by the name Captain Marvel. The character was bought by DC in 1971, when he was renamed, due to Marvel's ownership of the name Captain Marvel. A live action Shazam TV show was broadcast in the mid-70s, while an animated show followed in 1981.
Although Shazam will be the next DC movie to start shooting, the studio has plenty more films in the pipeline. A full slate of upcoming titles was announced at San Diego Comic-Con last month, includingWonder Woman 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Green Lantern Corps, Batgirl, and the Flash movie, which is now titled Flashpoint.
Ubisoft's popular open-world shooter Ghost Recon: Wildlands now has a free trial on PS4 and Xbox One. The demo allows you to play up to five hours of the game--so if you were on the fence about buying, now might be the time to dive in and give it a go. The trial is available worldwide for free on consoles, though it seems PC players will not get a similar demo--no trial can currently be found on Steam or Uplay.
The news comes just a fortnight after Ubisoft announced a PvP open beta for Wildlands. The game launched without any form of player-versus-player mode in March, but the new competitive multiplayer suite is coming at some point soon with a free beta "later in the summer."
We enjoyed Wildlands when it launched earlier this year, though it did have its problems. "As only the second open-world game in the Clancyverse," wrote critic Miguel Concepcion, "Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a middlingly safe tactical shooter and a slightly wasted opportunity given the ambitious scope of its seemingly boundless map. While its main strength is its mission diversity, it doesn't take long to lose the motivation after reaching El Sueno's doorstep. Even with a foursome of highly trained friends, Wildlands eventually reveals its diminishing returns. The feeling of positive immediacy and dopamine hits begin to wane sooner than you expected from a game with such a large and diverse world." Read more in our full Ghost Recon: Wildlands review.
Developer 343 Industries has supported Halo 5: Guardians with regular and substantial updates since the game's release in October 2015. While the game is no longer receiving major expansions, that doesn't mean 343 is finished supporting the title.
In its latest weekly blog post, 343 said, "Even as we're nearing two years since release, the team is far from done."
Right now, 343 is working on a 4K update for Halo 5 on Xbox One X. 343 teased in the blog post, "From the early glimpses I've seen, it is something to get excited about for players with 4K hardware."
This update has required a lot of time and effort, 343 said. The studio added that it is working on this update alongside "brand new secret stuff for the future."
"The list of things the team would like to do in Halo 5 is seemingly never-ending," 343 said. "The reality is that much of those items are left in limbo until there's either a critical need to greenlight a patch (an experience-ruining exploit, for example) or a larger initiative comes into play (supporting the launch of a new console is a good one). Once it became clear that Halo 5 would be receiving an update for Xbox One X this Fall, teams across the studio started taking stock of what else might make sense to include in that update."
While specifics are being held back for now, 343 said the Fall update for Halo 5 will do more than add 4K support for Xbox One X. "A number of high-profile bugs are being actively worked on in addition to a few things that I think will be genuinely surprising."
One part of the update will be tweaks to Halo 5's sandbox, which covers the game's weapons, abilities, and vehicles. The last big update for the sandbox came in March, so it's been a while. For the fall update, 343 is going to make some "tuning refinements and adjustments" for some weapons.
"While the vast majority of these pieces are in a very good place, there are some that are not performing as designed and/or have room to be tightened up to fit a specific target role," 343 said. "It's been nearly two years now and there are elements of the sandbox that warrant some sprucing up and refreshing. We aren't quite ready to detail out every single item that's being looked at--we'll get to that very soon--but today we want to provide some high level context and expectation for what and why this is happening."
Also in the blog post, 343 talked about how fan feedback plays a critical role in shaping the updates that it releases. "This is your game as much as it is ours, and touching a sizable swathe of the sandbox is not something the team takes lightly," 343 said. "And it's important to note that this is all players--not just a competitive thing--once finalized, these changes will be updated throughout the entire game."
As Halo 5 is one of the biggest and most talked-about shooters out there, 343 is aware that not everyone is going to love every tweak that it makes to the game. "The team's job (which isn't easy!) is to wade through all of that feedback and sentiment, compare and contrast the subjective with the objective data, and land on changes that satisfy our goals and have an overall positive impact to the game and community," 343 said.
Starting next week, 343 will begin to share specific details on some of the Halo 5 sandbox changes, and we'll report back with more details then. For now, check out the full weekly blog post to hear a lot more from the developer.
It's not a big surprise that 343 is continuing to support Halo 5. The game is included in the Xbox Game Pass subscription program, so its playerbase is likely still pretty significant.
In its weekly update, Bungie announced that PC players can look forward to the opening Homecoming story mission, the Inverted Spire Strike, and the Countdown and Control competitive multiplayer modes.
This is the same assortment of modes that was available in the console beta; however, Bungie also revealed that it'll be testing a new map. Whereas console players could play Control on the Midtown map, PC players will get to battle on Javelin-4.
Notably, Bungie did not say that PC players will get a chance to check out Destiny 2's new social space. During the console beta, The Farm was made available for a very short time, but it doesn't seem that PC players will get that opportunity.
Bungie also detailed what its goals are for the PC beta. As this is the first game that Bungie has developed for PC in many years, the studio is focused on working out bugs and issues before release. It stated that it wants to "test the functionality for Destiny 2 on a new platform, give PC players their first taste of Destiny 2 in action, and leave a world of surprises in store for the final version of the game."
The beta begins for people who have pre-ordered the game on August 28, and it opens to the public on August 29. It ends on August 31. You can check out the minimum and recommended specs for the beta here. Destiny 2 officially launches on PC on October 24.
"The game was successful, it sold well, but it didn't quite sell as well as it should have," Zampella admitted. "Maybe because it was super-crowded, the pricing was aggressive--it was a rough window to launch our game."
Also in our interview, Zampella talked about how Titanfall 2's fanbase is a generally positive group, which can't always be said for other fanbases. "There's not really much negativity or acidity compared to other communities, so I'm very thankful for that," he said.
Zampella said he hopes the Titanfall franchise continues, and it will with the mobile RTS Titanfall: Assault, which is due out on August 10. Neither Respawn nor EA has announced plans for the franchise beyond that, but Zampella teased that there are other projects in the works that he can't talk about just yet.
"It's important for us to keep the franchise going. "We're doing more Titanfall," which is the quote I'm supposed to say. We have our franchise creative director, who's in charge of safeguarding the franchise in multiple formats and making sure it continues to grow. There's some other things we're doing that haven't been announced just yet, but we're heavily invested in the Titanfall universe."
"We're working on more Titanfall--we're not announcing what that is yet, but there's a few other things in the works--the mobile game, which turned out fantastic and is super fun, the fans love it and allowed us to expand on what we did in the last games. So I'm pretty happy with what the franchise has become."
We also learn in the interview that Respawn does not plan to release more Titanfall 2 content now that the Ultimate Edition is out. "Probably not. We want to work on new stuff," Zampella said.
In addition to more Titanfall projects, Respawn is working on a third-person Star Wars action game that's being directed by God of War veteran Stig Asmussen. In March this year, Respawn said this project is "still wrapped in secrecy" and won't be discussed for "a while."
You can read our full interview with Zampella right here.
Looking for a new game to play and have Amazon/Twitch Prime? If so, you can now download Day of the Tentacle Remastered completely free on PC. It normally goes for around $15.
The puzzle game, which is a sequel to Maniac Mansion, is free as part of Twitch's ongoing campaign where it gives away PC games. Some of the past freebies have included Deponia, Titan Souls, Gone Home, and Oxenfree.
You can add Day of the Tentacle Remastered to your library by visiting the game's Twitch page. Claim your copy from there and you'll be able to download and play the full game through the Twitch desktop app. The freebie offer ends on August 8.
Twitch Prime is included with Amazon Prime, so if you're already a subscriber you should be all set. Go to the Twitch blog to learn more.
Day of the Tentacle Remastered includes new artwork, along with improved audio, music, and sound effects. You can switch between new and classic modes. Another bonus is a commentary track featuring designers such as Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman.
Sony has released the list of best-selling PlayStation Store games in the US for the month of July. Unsurprisingly, Crash Bandicoot continued his ascent to the top of the PlayStation 4 charts, while the Call of Duty series dominated the DLC category.
On the DLC chart, Call of Duty: Black Ops III's Zombie Chronicles expansion once again took the top spot, while Diablo III's Rise of the Necromancer held firm at No. 2. The rest of the chart was largely comprised of various other Call of Duty DLC, though the Dragon Ball Super 4 pack for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 made a surprise appearance at No. 8.
The PS3 and Vita charts didn't differ too much from June's. The Last of Us topped the former, while God of War Collection was once again the best-selling PSN title for the latter. You can find the full sales charts for those and other platforms on the PlayStation Blog; the PS4 and DLC lists can be seen below.
July 2017's Best-Selling PS4 Games on PSN in the US
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition
God of War III Remastered
Friday the 13th: The Game
Rocket League
Grand Theft Auto V
Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
Ratchet & Clank
EA Sports UFC 2
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Star Wars Battlefront - Ultimate Edition
Madden NFL 17
Battlefield 1
Ghost Recon: Wildlands
How to Survive 2
MLB The Show 17
Mad Max
Ark: Survival Evolved
Elite Dangerous
July 2017's Best-Selling PS4 DLC on PSN in the US
Call of Duty Black Ops III: Zombies Chronicles
Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Absolution
Call of Duty Black Ops III - The Giant Zombies Map
Rocket League - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Car Pack
Call of Duty: MWR Variety Map Pack
Rocket League - The Fate of the Furious Ice Charger
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 - Dragon Ball Super Pack 4
Koei Tecmo has confirmed which platforms will host its upcoming open-world Dynasty Warriors game, Dynasty Warriors 9. We had previously known that it will launch on PlayStation 4, but today the studio revealed that the game will also see a release on Xbox One and PC via Steam.
Dynasty Warriors 9 is the latest mainline installment in the long-running action series. While it still retains the large-scale battles and hack-and-slash combat the series is known for, the game diverges from past installments in some dramatic ways, most notably in its level design. For the first time in the series, players will be able to traverse a seamless, open-world rendition of ancient China, from bamboo forests and snowy mountains to the Great Wall. You can see some new screenshots of the game's beautiful setting below.
In addition to its open world, Dynasty Warriors 9 introduces new gameplay and combat mechanics to the series. A new combo system allows players to chain together attacks that adapt to the enemy's state before devastating them with a decisive Finish Attack. The game also boasts a context-sensitive Interactive Action system that lets players interact with the world around them. For example, you can scale mountains and walls using a grappling hook, while objects strewn about the environment, such as oil barrels, can be ignited and used to your advantage during a battle.
Koei Tecmo still hasn't announced a release date for Dynasty Warriors 9, but it will be preceded by several spinoffs. A crossover game called Warriors All-Stars is launching for PS4 and PC on August 29. That title brings together characters from Koei Tecmo's various series, including Dynasty Warriors, Toukiden, Atelier Sophie, and more into a hack-and-slash adventure. Meanwhile, the Warriors-style Fire Emblem spinoff, Fire Emblem Warriors, is releasing for Nintendo Switch sometime this fall.
GameSpot and Five Star Games are excited to give you the chance to win one of ten Day One Edition copies of Agents of Mayhem on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One!
Choose your three favourite agents from a colourful roster to take on missions and explore everything the game world has to offer in this Saints Row spin-off!
Ten lucky readers will win a Day One Edition copy of Agents of Mayhem on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. The Day One Edition includes the base game and 6 Day One Edition skins, plus playable character Johnny Gat! For a chance to win, simply give us your most creative answer to the question below:
"You are tasked with creating a new character for Agents of Mayhem, what are they called and what are their abilities?"
GameSpot staff will hand-pick the winners based on the creativity of their answers. This competition will close on Tuesday, August 8 at 10:00am AEST.
This competition is only open to residents of Australia. All entrants must be over 18 years of age.
Please use the form to enter the competition, answers written in the comments section are invalid.
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